Getting Started

Updated Aug 25, 2026

The community is built into your Whispertrades account. There is nothing to install and no separate login. This page covers getting in, choosing how you appear, and the handful of things worth doing first.

Getting in

Community access is a free feature for active Whispertrades members. It is earned by using the platform and never by payment: no subscription or purchase buys it, and no amount of it can be bought.

A modest amount of bot or backtest activity is all it takes. Access unlocks on its own once you are active, and if it ever lapses through inactivity it returns automatically the next time you run something. You will not need to ask for it or renew anything.

If your access lapses, your bots, your backtests and everything else in your account keep working exactly as before.

Choosing a handle

You take part under a handle, and that handle is all anyone sees. Your real name and email address are never shown by the platform.

• 3 to 30 characters, using letters, numbers and underscores.

• Capitalize it however you like.

• Availability is checked as you type, so you will know before you submit.

• You can change it later, but there is a cooldown between changes, so pick one you will still be happy with.

Handles that impersonate another trader, a public figure or Whispertrades staff are not allowed, and you will be told at the point of choosing if yours reads that way.

Accepting the guidelines

Before you take part, you accept the Community Guidelines. They are versioned, so when they change materially you will be asked to read and accept the new version before continuing. What changed is shown alongside the request, so you are not re-reading the whole thing to find one paragraph.

Your first three steps

The first time you arrive, the community home shows a short checklist: pick your handle, share something, and follow a few traders. It removes itself once all three are done.

It is private to you. There is no streak, no badge and no count that any other member can see, and nothing about it is ever mentioned to anyone else. If you would rather not use it, dismiss it.

To make the sharing step easy, it suggests a few of your own strongest runs as candidates, so you have somewhere to start rather than a blank page.

Following traders

Following is one-way. Follow a trader and their shared work reaches you; they are told that you followed them, and nothing else changes.

When two members follow each other they become mutual followers, which unlocks two things:

• Either of you can share work with an audience of "all mutual followers", or with the other by name.

• Either of you can start a direct message conversation.

Mutual follower access is resolved live. If either of you unfollows the other, anything shared on that basis stops being visible.

Controlling who can reach you

Blocking a member is a complete, both-direction severance. You disappear from each other's library, feeds, mentions and messages, and any follows between you are torn down at the same time. It applies in both directions regardless of who blocked whom.

If someone breaks the guidelines, report them rather than only blocking them. Blocking protects you; reporting is what lets moderators act.

Keeping up

A purple dot appears on Community in your navigation when something is waiting for you. Inside, notifications cover:

• Announcements

• New messages in groups you have asked to be notified about

• Mentions of your handle

• Direct messages

• Group invitations

Reading the thing a notification points at clears it, so you will not be left with a count for something you have already seen.

A small number of things also reach you by email: a direct message, an update to a bot you subscribe to, and the conclusion of a research question you were following. Every community email carries an unsubscribe link.

While your account is new

For your first couple of weeks, posting and messaging rate limits are set lower than they are for long-standing members. Nothing is blocked and no feature is withheld; the caps are simply more conservative while an account is new, and they lift on their own.